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Some
might say no one has made a better 3D Platformer than Super
Mario64, a better 2D Platformer than Super Mario Bros.
or a better First-Person Shooter than DOOM. These  games
either created or popularised their respective genres and ever since
some gamers and critics have disregarded subsequent games inspired
by these as mere rip-offs. Although the former titles superior
nature may occasionally come into question, if there is a game that
has never been bettered by its mimics it is the Grand Theft Auto series.
Although The Getaway and the True Crime series tried
with some success, no game has even really come close to challenging
the supremacy of the original Free-Roaming Criminal game. However,
each new console generation brings new opportunities for developers
and given the abundance of power available to the Xbox360, a
Free-Roaming title has a lot of scope on Microsoft’s supercharged
white box. The first publisher to take on the mammoth task of
bringing Next-Generation criminal activity to the Xbox360 is THQ
with the highly anticipated Saints Row. Although clearly
taking a lot of inspiration from Grand Theft Auto, early
demos have illustrated that, despite it’s rampant plagiarism, Saints
Row could be a title worthy of it’s heritage, although so did True
Crime: New York City.
The
Single-Player Mode starts with the player creating there own avatar.
The customisation options are quite extensive, much like THQ’s own
WWE
SmackDown! Vs Raw 2006, and it is very possible to create a
very unique character. Once this is done the game begins and your
creation finds himself slap bang in the middle of a turf war between
three of the city of Stillwater’s four gangs; Los Carnales, The
Vice Kings and The West Side Rollerz. During this thoroughly
over-the-top intro, your character is saved by Julius of the 3rd
Street Saints, the city’s underdog gang. After a short Tutorial
Sequence the game begins for real and you are  literally free to do
whatever it takes to take over the City of Stillwater.
The
game plays almost exactly like the 3D Grand Theft Auto games,
albeit with many changes, mostly improvements, to the original
formula. Cars can be freely jacked and pedestrians shot at, and the
player is free to roam the street of the fictional American city of Stillwater. Unfortunately there are not as many cars and weapons as are
available in the later Grand Theft Auto titles, but the
selection is by no means sparse. However, the Aiming System is much
better, mainly due to its simple First-Person Shooter like controls,
something Xbox360 owners will no doubt be familiar with. In order to
progress through the story you must complete various Missions
related to the three other gangs. However, in order to start these
Missions you must have the required Respect. Respect is earned
through the game’s many activities, such as taking hostages,
recruiting ho’s and causing mayhem. Once you have filled your
Respect Meter you may undertake another Story Mission. This simple
system works very well and makes the story much more freeform than
it peers. It also forces the player to undertake the other highly
enjoyable activities in order to progress the story, something that
allows Saints Row to remain fun and fresh throughout. On
completion of most Missions the 3rd Street Saints will take one of the other gangs Territories.
Stillwater is divided into thirty-six Territories and owning each one will earn
the player $200 per game day. This money can then be collected from
your Crib whenever you like. It’s a nice system that rewards you
for your progress through out the game. However, the enemy gangs
will randomly attempt to take back their Territory through an all
out, and very amusing, gang war. Although the enemy gang will never
get the territory back, you will earn no money from it so it’s
best to retrieve it as soon as possible, however, since these wars
are generally quite fun, you will rarely loathe the task.
Being
a crime-related game, money plays a big part of Saints Row.
Aside from buying weapons, cash is used to buy clothing,
accessories, car upgrades and assorted narcotics. Spending money on
clothes is not entirely superficial either, wearing expensive
clothing and jewellery and your gang’s colours will give a bonus
to the Respect  and cash earned through Missions. Vehicles can by
“pimped” extensively and stored in the garage next to your
Cribs. These garages can store an almost infinite amount of cars
which can be retrieved through a simple Menu System. Your Cribs are
also more than just a Save Point and wardrobe, they hold your cash
earned through Territories and gun stash. The other use for cash, or
rather another way to spend it, is when you are busted by the police
or killed. Similar to Grand Theft Auto, being killed or
busted will earn you a trip to the Hospital or Police Station
respectively. Each time this happens you will have a percentage of
you cash subtracted, a simple way of not penalising players early in
the game, before ramping up the difficulty as the stakes get higher.
Since
it’s inception, THQ have always touted Saints Row’s
online Multi-Player Modes. These include standard Deathmatch style
modes to the original Blinged Out Ride Mode and the Counterstrike-esque
Escort Tha Pimp Mode. Blinged Out Ride involves two teams each
having to race to four different garages for customisation before
racing to a Finishing Point. Simple if it was not for the abundance
of firearms involved! The Escort Tha Pimp involves two teams, one to
protect the unarmed pimp and the other to kill him. This can result
in a very tactical game, aided greatly by the  Xbox360’s Voice
Communication features. Saints Row also allows the forming of
gangs that will collectively earn money through the wins of it’s
members.
Saints
Row features graphics that, while nowhere near as detailed as
the likes of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter,
are entirely suited to the game and run with few Frame-Rate
problems. Each gang is easily defined through the colours of its
members and their vehicles, and Saints Row has some of the
most satisfying explosions on any game. Instead of the classic Flame
Effect and burned-out vehicle, exploding cars spray bumpers and
wheels in all directions thanks to the Havok Engine. In fact, the
addition of Real-Time Physics to this genre has done wonders for its
playability, perhaps mostly within Saints Row’s hilarious
Insurance Fraud Activity. During Insurance Fraud, the player must
attempt to cause the most outlandish accident  through placing their
avatar in harms way, before collecting the money through an
insurance claim. Some ridiculous accidents can occur due to the
players recklessness and this is definitely amongst the most amusing
parts of Saints Row. Although generally the visuals in Saints
Row are great with no instances of the dreaded Slowdown, there
are obvious instances of Texture Tearing and redrawing, a shame in
this otherwise exceptionally polished game.
The
sound in Saints Row is generally of a very high standard.
Although occasionally a little forced, the Voice-Acting is good,
with mostly sharp writing. Saints Row has gone with
popularising Hip-Hop culture, with generally good, if slightly clichéd
results, as opposed to the satire of its main influence. The Radio
Stations sound like they where ripped straight from Grand Theft
Auto, but lack the AAA line-up and, unfortunately, the humour.
Still, there are several licensed tracks, and some good original
music.
Saints
Row is exactly what the genre needs; a true challenger to Grand
Theft Auto. Although Saints Row is incredibly similar to
it’s influence, it’s constant attention to making criminal life
as fun as possible and great presentation mean that it is a
amazingly good game in it’s own right. It is evident that Saints
Row will attract the attention of the Grand Theft Auto
faithful who may disregard it as a rip-off, the truth is that Saints
Row has upped the ante and actually in many places, bettered Grand
Theft Auto. Expect few better examples of the genre until Grand
Theft Auto IV, and even then, RockStar Games have their work
cut-out.
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